New Delhi not in biz of exporting terror: PM to Pak

ET Bureau|

Oct 12, 2009, 02.06 AM IST

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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday scotched attempts by Pakistan to resurrect the Balochistan problem by linking it with India, asserting in very clear terms that New Delhi was not in the ���business of exporting terror���.

Three days after the second round of attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, the prime minister talked tough, asserting that Pakistan���s continued support to terror groups was causing ���great harm��� to South Asia.

���The government and people of Pakistan should realise the great harm that patronisation of terrorist groups has done to South Asia,��� Mr Singh told newspersons in Mumbai on Sunday.

The prime minister���s remarks made it clear that the needle of suspicion for the second assault on the Kabul embassy within a year-and-a-half pointed towards elements in Pakistan. In fact, there were striking similarities between the modus operandi employed in the two attacks, and security experts in India suspect that the ISI could be involved in the latest outrage too.

Mr Singh said the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan ���is not what it should be. The rising role of terrorist groups (in the two countries) is a matter of great concern to all of us���.

The prime minister sought to reassure the country, asserting that the government was prepared to meet any kind of threat. ���We���ve to make adequate preparations to deal with the consequences of this overflow of terrorism from our neighbours,��� he said, adding: ���We are taking all necessary measures in this direction.���

The prime minister took the opportunity to deny Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik���s allegation that India was responsible for the rising wave of terrorism in Balochistan province, and maintained that Islamabad���s allegation was ���totally wrong���.

���We are not in the business of exporting terrorism to Pakistan or any other country,��� he said. ���The people and government of Pakistan jolly well know that this is a false accusation.��� The prime minister���s categorical assertion on this count came in the wake of renewed attempt by Pakistan to resurrect the Balochistan problem and pit the blame for it at the doorsteps of India.

The prime minister simultaneously demanded that Pakistan should try and punish those who masterminded the Mumbai terror attack last year.

Diplomatic pressure from India and the international community, according to Mr Singh, had forced Pakistan to admit for the first time that its nationals were involved in the terror assault that killed some 170 people.

���They should investigate all those who are involved (in that attack), including Hafiz Saeed, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. There should be a fair trial which will result in proper punishment being given to them. We have not lost hope,��� he remarked.

���For the first time Pakistan admitted that it (attack) had its origins in Pakistan, the conspiracy leading to the tragedy in Mumbai was hatched in Pakistan, that citizens of Pakistan were involved. Pakistan had never before agreed to this... So there is some progress,��� Mr Singh added.